Bogaerts homers twice to pace Sox
David Price wasn’t great Sunday night, and he didn’t have to be. The best strike Boston threw to home plate came from left field, anyway.
Xander Bogaerts went deep twice for the first multihomer game of his career and had four RBIs, Andrew Benintendi threw out a runner trying to score and the Red Sox beat the Houston Astros 6-5.
Bogaerts had just two homers entering Sunday’s game. He ended an 0-for-14 skid when he connected off Joe Musgrove (4-6, 5.09 ERA) to make it 1-0 with two outs in the first inning.
A two-run shot by Bogaerts in the sixth put the Red Sox up 3-2. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-run double that inning.
The Astros cut the lead to 6-5 on an RBI single by Carlos Beltran with one out in the eighth inning. Jose Altuve was thrown out at home on that play by Benintendi, and then Yuli Gurriel struck out look- ing to end the inning and was ejected after arguing the call.
An inning later, catcher Christian Vazquez caught Houston’s Derek Fisher stealing to end the game.
“Bogey offensively is the dif- ference in this one, but our ability to throw the baseball on the defensive side is what preserved this win tonight,” manager John Farrell said.
Price (2-1, 5.14 ERA) got the win despite tying a season high by allowing eight hits with three runs and three walks in five-plus innings.
Price was asked to evaluate how he’s pitched in the five games since coming off the disabled list on May 29.
“It’s just been terrible,” he said. “It’s been bad. It’s not me. I can throw the base- ball better. That’s the bot- tom line.”
Houston pulled within 5-4 with homers from Jake Marisnick and George Springer in the sixth, but an RBI single by Bogaerts added an insurance run in the seventh.
Boston tied the New York Yankees atop the America League East. Craig Kimbrel allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for his 20th save.
Carlos Correa, Marisnick and Springer each hit a solo homer for the Astros, who went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and lost for the fifth time in seven games.
“They took advantage of almost all of their opportunities and we struggled in a couple of those,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
Musgrove yielded six hits and five runs in 5⅔ innings. He struck out seven and walked two. just tried to get out there and work, learn as much as I can and apply it on the field. Just how to be a pro, being around a lot of pros and watching what they do. You learn from those guys. You try to fit in the best way you can, just trying to learn the playbook.
“I talk to Lamar. I learn a lot from him. He’s more of a lead-by-example person. I just try to take the things away from him that I can apply on the field when I’m out there.”
Listed at 6 feet and 233 pounds after playing last season at 249 pounds, Fore- man provides a mixture of power and speed. He led the nation with 2,048 rushing yards during his junior season with the Longhorns before declaring early in the draft.
Foreman is still working to get into optimal shape. He’d like to drop a few pounds before training camp.
“That’s one of the things I want to do is try to tighten up a little bit more and lose some more weight and try to go in there the best that I can,” Foreman said. “It’s going good. It’s a lot of time to get out there and make sure we’re doing extra running on weekends and off days. Every day we were off, I was in there running and getting extra conditioning in. I think it’s going good.”
A native of Texas City, Foreman ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and had a 33-inch vertical leap at the Longhorns’ Pro Day workout with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick in attendance. He rushed for 15 touchdowns and aver- aged 184.4 rushing yards per game in 2016.
Now that he’s in the NFL, Foreman is determined to make his rookie season count as he adjusts to professional football. He hasn’t been surprised so far by what the NFL is like.
“Right now, I’m just really focused on making the team and getting out there and making sure I contribute,” he said. “I figured it would be like this. I’m very happy to be in Houston. It’s wonderful for me and my family. I’m looking forward to the season.”
Options at safety: The Texans haven’t struck deals for veteran safeties Aaron Williams and Jaiquawn Jarrett and are expected to continue contemplating their options at the position heading into training camp, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
Williams, a former Long- horn, visited the Texans on Thursday. Jarrett auditioned for the Texans last Tuesday and Wednesday at their minicamp.
Williams is a former Buf- falo Bills starter who was cut by the AFC East club in March after dealing with recurring neck injuries over the past two seasons. He was placed on injured reserve in November on the heels of an ugly collision with Miami Dol- phins wide receiver Jarvis Landry that drew a $24,309 fine.
Williams’ health has improved significantly since last season, according to a source. He was limited to 10 games over the past two seasons and underwent a neck surgery two years ago. year tute amounted them